KWB Wealth Lowers Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

KWB Wealth cut its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 31.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,654 shares during the period. KWB Wealth’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.48.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC stock opened at $75.43 on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $50.15 and a 52-week high of $81.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $245.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a fifty day moving average of $70.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.94.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The firm had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 28.73%.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Co is a diversified and community-based financial services company, which engages in the provision of banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth and Investment Management.